Top Pick

Latter-Day Cipher

Latayne C. Scott

Moody Publishers

softcover, 368 pages, $13.99

978-0-802-45679-3

A series of murders has rocked Salt Lake City, the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), in the thriller Latter-Day Cipher. Whoever is responsible for the murders is trying to point each crime to doctrines of the Mormon church, posing each victim to represent a punishment for those leaving the church or going against its teachings.

Selonnah Zee is a reporter assigned to do a story on the history and architecture of the Mormon temples, but is drawn into investigative reporting when the murders begin.

While in the city, Selonnah stays with her cousin Roger, a network features reporter and devout Mormon, and his family. His role is to put the right “spin” on the evidence to draw attention away from the church, putting him in direct conflict with Selonnah.

Latter-Day Cipher involves the reader not only in a page-turning murder mystery, but also in the struggles of those who must face their own shaken beliefs. A former faithful Mormon, author Scott is sympathetic to those struggles, and attempts to look compassionately at the process of making the hard decision to change.

—Sandra Furlong

Inside the Revolution

Joel C. Rosenberg

Tyndale House Publishers

hardcover, 576 pages, $24.99

978-1-414-31931-5

Political commentator Rosenberg’s fiction titles, including Dead Heat and The Copper Scroll, have been popular for their insight into current world events. Inside the Revolution, a nonfiction work on the Middle East, digs deeper into the conflict.

Rosenberg argues that three simultaneous revolutions are transpiring in and transforming the Middle East. Fittingly, he organizes his text into three parts: Radicals, Reformers and Revivalists. Radicals are those Muslims who are bent on restoring the caliphate and building a global empire. Reformers are Muslims who challenge Jihadism and endorse Jeffersonian democracy, and Revivalists are Muslims who are disavowing their theology and embracing Christianity.

For the book, Rosenberg distilled information from speeches, texts, manifestos, Web sites, videos and interviews with notable figures. Readers will especially enjoy “Making Way for the Messiah,” a veritable Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about the Bible’s vision of the future.

The size and length of Inside the Revolution may be off-putting initially, but Rosenberg writes in a succinct, engaging style. Fans of his work as well as those interested in current events, the Middle East, Islam and the end times will devour this book.

—C. Brian Smith

The Principle of the Path

Andy Stanley

Thomas Nelson

hardcover, 176 pages, $19.99

978-0-849-92060-8

In The Principle of the Path: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, pastor and author Stanley examines various life principles, such as “what goes up must come down” and the idea that if a person knows where they are and how to get to where they want to be, they will achieve their life goals and dreams. The opposite is also true.

Stanley says that honesty plays a huge role in achieving one’s goals as well. Some people want to achieve certain goals, but they are not honest about the choices they make. The principle of the path allows for people to borrow from others’ paths through counsel, observation and imitation Ultimately, however, following and accepting the path that God has outlined through His laws will bring the most satisfaction, peace and fulfillment.

The Principle of the Path, an encouraging and exciting read, gets right to the heart of the matter through Stanley’s natural humor and engaging writing style.

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